Larry seen dressed up in a patriotic bow-tie on the cabinet table in Downing Street in 2011. Credit: PA

David Cameron has again insisted his family loves Larry the Downing Street cat despite being unimpressed by his mouse-catching skills.

The Prime Minister denied the claim in Matthew d'Ancona's book In It Together that the cat was unpopular, and said: "I'm very keen on Larry, my family love Larry, and now we've got Freya as well, the Chancellor's cat."

He told Sky News Radio: "I think where this story came from is I was once rude about Larry's mousing abilities.

"It is true that he once sat on a chair in my study at Number 10 and this mouse ran across the floor and Larry just lifted his head and had a look at it and did absolutely nothing."